sanewsguy

 

Per DCRTV.com, W*USA has hired away ex-WJLA ND Bill Lord as their news director and station manager.

 

Probably the smartest thing Gannett has done with W*USA in over 15 years, if that.

 

The same guy who fired Doug McKelway while he was GM at WJLA?

 

It's going to be very interesting with the rollout for the London stations. I'm hoping & praying they don't alter KIII's Circle 3 logo.

 

They'll probably have to, to add the ABC logo because ABC is so adamant about their logo being prominent on the affiliates. I don't know why. the circle three looks fine the way it is. The "kiii tv" part could stand to be updated some, but don't mess with the circle 3.

 

Another logo that I hope stays, KBMT's 12.

 

KTVX is considering several new designs for its website. There are three possibilities but you'll probably only be shown one. If you refresh this page and click it again you should be able to get another design.

 

Note the url, ibdigitalagency.com. So, Nexstar must be migrating from Inergize to Internet Broadcasting? Actually, are they merging into one CMS company to give WorldNow a run for their money? I ask because Nexstar consolidated Inergize into IB's offices earlier this year.

 

They're waking up and realizing the current design (which is just a refined version of what they used when their sites were on Joomla) is not very good.

 

The first design I got was nice, it's an improved version of Tribune's sites but it looks a lot more functional and user friendly, blending the best of the blogging layout with a functional news interface.

 

The second is a time machine to WorldNow circa 2003, yuck. I will likely answer the survey on that and tell them it sucks.

 

Never got the third one.

 

With some luck I did get the third one finally. It's OK, it reminds me a lot of KSAT's current site, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if IB actually did do their new site.

 

The first one, A, is by far the best. I hope that's the one they go with.

 

Our local daily runs Parade on weekends as well, but we USA Today is right next to our paper in the checkout line, so at least in this market, it may not be a stretch of epic proportions.

 

And they've long been pushing USA Today -- as a part of their (new) 4pm show, they have a "In The Headlines" segment featuring headlines from their "publication partners at USA Today".

 

USA Weekend is different from USA Today. It's a pullout magazine in Sunday newspapers just like Parade is. Not the same as the Friday edition of USA Today which is branded as USA Today Weekend.

 

Also I read on TV Spy that WVEC hired a new meteorologist, Iisha Scott from WECT, to do weekend mornings. So, did Julie Wilcox leave?

 

 

I just saw a WFAA newscast since the switch to TIH (first trip back to Dallas since the summer). I noticed different cuts for the each segment - the first break after the A-Block had a bit of a "Hello News" feel (at least to me). I do like the variety (over what I see on w*usa 9, my home Gannett station).

 

As for integrating "The a Spirit of Texas" and "This is Home" - I can see it easily being done using the 6-note SOT signature followed by the TIH signature. I have it running though my head right now and think it sounds decent - but since WFAA is branding as "News 8", I haven't seen any vestiges of SOT anywhere on air... It seems that Gannett just wanted to kill the SOT, to ensure folks knew that Belo isn't in charge anymore... (Just my thoughts)

 

J

 

I think that aside from cosmetic changes, Gannett should run WFAA like under Belo where it was basically their baby and WFAA got whatever it wanted. I know Gannett holds KUSA in high regard but they shouldn't. Denver is a slow-growth market compared to Dallas and Gannett should treat WFAA as such.

 

Well, I saw the Gannette takeover, because groupwide this week, they pushed that #FactsNotFear Ebola campaign... plus they push alot of the "Nation Now" stories through to the stations too.

 

Also, I thought I'd tell you, "The Spirit" campaign lives on....sorta. WVEC/ABC13 is using the "Spirit of Hampton Roads" in connection with their food drive this Saturday as part of Gannett's "Make a Difference Day". This would be the first time I've seen that slogan used in almost maybe eight or nine years!

 

Great, they're partnering with USA Weekend...

 

Thing is, not everybody's local newspaper carries USA Weekend. Most of them carry Parade (which is the main competitor). Fortunately, my local paper, the Express-News (a Hearst property), actually carries both now but for a long time they just carried Parade. Gannett needs to think these things through before they roll out something like this...

 

Well, if I were a betting man, Gannett Digital (the web people) will have the London stations up on Presto before G3 can get them on the graphics, considering KREM still hasn't gotten transitioned yet.

 

Check out KIII's FB page. I hope the constant promotion of shows and asking people "are you watching TV3 right now, because if you're not you're missing..." is a Gannett thing, because KIII used to not do that until after Gannett took over.

 

Strangely KENS does not do this. But, not a lot happens in Corpus Christi anyway so maybe that's why...

 

WDTV in Bridgeport, WV is getting a new set.

 

Hopefully when they get their new set, they will also pick a logo and stick with it. If I'm not mistaken they use three different logos, the two in that video and then one on their site which I think is also used in the opens...

 

Gannett's broadcasting revenue is up over 100%.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/gannett-broadcast-revenue-105/134961

 

So good they are making the day after Christmas a paid holiday. Good for them.

 

Ouch, that IS Scott Chapin. He's getting worse with age.

 

no, it's not. Scott Chapin sounds great still and he'll still do the occasional promo, but they've been phasing in this new guy for a while (2009 is when they started using him), I think he's local because I've never heard him elsewhere:

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The four reasons I generally don't watch 12 anymore:

1. You can't go five seconds on the station without hearing "Expect More.". KSAT has promoted the living hell out of that slogan.
   
2. Horrible VO as seen above. It's sad a VO is one of the reasons you won't watch a station, but he's pretty bad. Heck, Eric Gordon is far better than him.
   
3. David Cuccio = stale promos/feel of station
   
4. Poor quality newscast.
   

 

Here we go! This is KQDS in Duluth, MN. What's worse is that these are fairly new graphics for them.

 

http://www.fox21online.com/sites/default/files/Evening%20Update%2010-21-14.mp4

 

Well, for the market size it's not bad. At least they are not using the Fox 1998 package for their music like their sister ...

 

(KVRR's graphics aren't bad but they'd be so much better if they could use fonts other than Tahoma or Impact)

 

Sounds like she liked being a big fish in a small pond and now she's a tadpole in the ocean.

 

I agree. I've actually met her on multiple occasions, she's always seems to have come across as stuck-up and arrogant. Not very friendly. Fake personality on air when she has to fill in for Monica Taylor.

 

 

I mean one would think that because WOAI/4 the more established station would get the preferential treatment over KABB. I hate that these two have to combine because 4 needed some better owners Raycom or Media General would of been a great fit for them.

 

FOX 29 was growing in different areas, but what that market didn't need was a combo station that Sinclair just love. WOAI/KMOL have suffer for so long that once they merge I'm sure Sinclair will invest in the station, but I do hope Randy Beamer will still be the mainstay at Channel 4 he's the face of that stations brand. However I always felt both KENS & KSAT both had the better newscast in San Antonio market, where KSAT is flashy, where KENS was more laid back.

 

I've never found KENS or KSAT to have a great product. KENS has broken many journalistic ethics just to break a story and I've seen it happen first hand. I'm not going to go into further detail there but ever since that particular incident happened with them I refuse to watch them, aside from the obligatory check-ins to see how Gannett is driving them further into the ground running them.

 

I grew up with KSAT because that's what my parents watched. It's too flashy and blood and guts for my taste. Station's feel is stale due to same CSD since 1997. They also have a horrid announcer who tries too hard to be Scott Chapin and actually that VO is part of the reason why I try not to watch KSAT.

 

Honestly out of all the owners who bid on the Newport stations I thought WOAI would've ended up with Nexstar. I think Nexstar would've given 5 & 12 a run for their money but I'm guessing Sinclair outbid Nexstar. LIN would've been great too to given lonely KXAN some company. But, unfortunately we're stuck with more Sinclair.

 

WOAI's primary team is actually pretty solid now. Randy Beamer is far and away the best anchor in the market, Evy Ramos has an excellent chemistry with Beamer and is also the best female anchor in the market right behind Beamer. She just came in one day and fits right in. Actually she has the same personality as Beamer so it works out great. Right balance of personality, charisma and seriousness and I hope they stay as a duo for years to come. Easily the best team in the market. Delaine Mathieu is very personable and is one of the nicest anchors you'll meet. Albert Flores and Don Harris are longtime mainstays of San Antonio news.

 

With that, WOAI has a powerful evening team they can capitalize on, unlike KENS who changes their male anchors every couple years (let's see if Jeff Goldblatt's contract gets renewed, I don't think so, and actually I haven't seen him on the air lately), or KABB who is in flux with their talent and their primary anchor has been here less than six months and is honestly a little tough to watch. She didn't have much chemistry with Michael Valdes either and actually I do think it was his decision to leave. He seems so much happier being out of there.

 

I think what Blaise Labbe needs to look at, is to stop hiring so much out-of-market talent and hire more San Antonio market veterans or natives of the area, who are bound to stay longer. I will give them props for hiring Ashlei King, who's from the area. Hopefully they will make more hires like that in the future.

 

 

Prior to all the recent M&A activities, San Antonio was a very stable TV market but lately all these people are leaving and we're getting cheap-rate small market talent that are frankly not great and don't even want to be here and just leave when then contract is up. KSAT just hired a weekend morning reporter from Tyler, TX and honestly I think she's too green for this market, doesn't have a great on-camera presence. Like I would've liked to see Vicki Buffolino resurface somewhere locally, or even Leslie Komet who WOAI used as a holiday fill-in last year.

 

In any which case, there's a lot going on in this market and I don't think we've seen the last of it.

Interesting read about what's going on at the Sinclair duop here. Sylvia Rincon is the latest to leave. Many staffers are worried WOAI is getting preferential treatment over KABB and that the "small tight knit family" KABB once was is becoming more like a business. Not sure I'd agree with that assessment as a viewer. KABB seems to get more preferential treatment on the air, the quality of WOAI's promos are lowering to that of KABB's standard, and so on. (WOAI had some great promos while they were a separate entity, now they are poor quality much like KABB's were prior to the buyout).

 

Content wise, WOAI far and away has the best newscast in the market, and the newscasts here aren't that good to begin with honestly.

 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/entertainment_columnists/jeanne_jakle/article/KABB-exits-mount-as-another-news-vet-quits-5835411.php

OK, here's tonight's KENS 6PM open featuring their current music:

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Here's an update on Joe Swift, the sportscaster fired for saying farewell to two co-workers. According to him, he was fired over Skype.

http://www.nptelegraph.com/news/local_news/former-sports-director-keeps-options-open/article_a6a0c595-b3bf-569b-8e5d-a4375ba114ea.html

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ever since they dumped their anchors, they went to straight rebroadcasts, didn't they?

 

Yes and no. For a while after they dumped the staff, they kept their meteorologists and still did live weather cut-ins from the "Texas Weather Center". They would also run limited "original programming". For instance, TXCN took KVUE's "Does It Work?" segments and made it into a thirty minute show. So some hours would be original programming, and others would be rebroadcasts. However around 2011 they went to straight rebroadcasts only. Considering I watched TXCN a lot in their prime, wow, how the mighty have fallen.

 

Haven't seen a second of them under Gannett so I don't know what they do now, last time I watched them was in 2011. I do know that Kevin Selle is no longer chief meteorologist there so I don't know who does the weather there still. WFAA's people, maybe?

 

Gannett obviously has something big in mind with TXCN with the purchase of the London stations.

 

I hope. TXCN has been a joke since 2006. I also hope they add TXCN to the digital multicast so that way more people can watch them.

 

Don't do this. You are not the rights holder to this material, especially the entire show. Your intentions may be good, but this is a bad idea.

 

 

I've posted entire newscasts before from WMAQ and nothings happened. Hes good.

 

 

No, he's not good. Whether you get caught or not, it is in no way acceptable to post an entire show online unless you have permission.

 

 

He's right - I had a lapse in logic. I've deleted them from the channel it was on.

 

If there was an alternate way to make this available, I'd love to. Otherwise...

 

This is the live stream page. Weekday broadcasts are at 4am-7am ET, 11am-Noon ET, 4pm-6:30pm ET, and 11pm ET.

 

If you give a shit about broadcast journalism I encourage you to watch.

 

The almighty dollar rules again... (copyright laws in this country seriously need to be updated)

 

 

Yep, I got a copy right takedown notice for a simple promo (that was quite good) from Hearst. I now have one strike against me on YouTube. Oddly it was the only one that I didn't write in the description for discussion on TVNT. I moved some others to private where they could be seen by linking but then went public again.

 

Hearst has been known to abuse their DCMA power. You should've filed an appeal with YT and claimed fair use. It's not like you're trying to profit off it...

 

It is possible that it's not a custom signature but rather just a musical idea. I've heard pretty crappy edit jobs of This is Home that splice about 3 different cuts together. The KING stations and the Texas stations could be going for uniformity, especially with NWCN and TXCN.

 

Unfortunately I do not know anyone who has Time Warner Cable anymore so I have no way of seeing how TXCN has been since the Gannett takeover. NWCN is a real 24 hour news station though, TXCN is a joke.

Hoak seemed to have a thing for knocking off Hothaus. WMBB, Valley News Live, KNOE (the closest knockoff of the final Belo look)... That WMBB look was also picked up by KHAS and KNOP too when they went HD last year. (although KHAS/KSNB now uses a stock Gray look)

 

Actually, KENS and the KING cluster use different cuts. Yeah, I've actually listened intently. LOL.

 

Using NMSA times, KING & Co use the cut that starts at about 00:13. KENS' cut actually sound just like the WFAA/KHOU versions (around 1:06), just sans the melody and opening signature. The hits at the end are the same, just more slowed and chopped on KENS' version. As of now, KVUE is the only G-Team station in Texas using TiH that doesn't use the "sig" cut (or a version thereof), and again brings me back to whether they will use this theme for all of the stations.

 

KENS:

WFAA:

 

KENS no longer uses that cut, I will post what they use now on Monday if I remember. They actually changed music pretty quickly, less than a month after the G3 look launched.

 

That six-note sig in the front sounds like that. While it's not the "Spirit" cue, it still makes me feel Texas-y. Don't know why.

 

I'm also interested in how the London stations will pick up Gannett's themes too. Alot of the themes for those stations have a heavy Texas accent to them, if you will.

 

I don't know why, but I like that custom cue so much better than the crap KENS uses (the same cut as the NW cluster). I wouldn't say it sounds "Texas-y" per se, but it does sound very authoritative.

 

As for the London stations, they all use Stephen Arnold themes. I wonder if they used them on a group wide contract basis similar to Nexstar. If they have a heavy Texas accent to them, I'd say it's more Arnold's style and a coincidence. I will miss Third Coast on KIII though. It definitely fits the market in my opinion, (I've been to Corpus countless times over the past fifteen years for a quick getaway. KIII is the station I usually watch because I can't stand the kiddie corps reporters on channel 6). TiH is a very generic theme in my opinion. It's not as bad as cbs2 makes it out to be, but it also isn't a one-size-fits-all theme. That's why I'm not a big fan of standardization, because certain themes fit certain markets like a glove, and then some are out of place. Like TiH would be very out of place on KIII. But unfortunately standardization is inevitable and here to stay.

 

Also, unlike most people especially those outside the state, I've never really held the Spirit of Texas in high regard. I'm guessing it's because a station here never really used it long-term. KMOL had it in the late 80's but it was gone by 1991 (at the latest, I can't pinpoint an exact date) when they went to their "Straight Talk, Straight Facts, Straight To You" ad campaign.

Sounds like WFAA's cut...

This sportscaster was fired for saying farewell to two co-workers who were leaving the station. Station is KNOP which has seen changes lately now that they are owned by Gray.

 

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Here's an article to give you more context: http://www.northplattebulletin.com/index.asp?show=news&action=readStory&storyID=28780&pageID=3

 

Also another sportscaster was fired but this time in Fargo: http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/fargo-sports-director-faces-felony-assault-charges_b131787

for lack of a better place to put this. I managed to watch an episode of "The Right Side with Armstrong Williams" this morning and the production values on the show are horrible. The last time I watched Armstrong's show years ago, it was filmed in a dark room with a table, kind of like Charlie Rose's set. Now the show is apparently produced out of WPDE in Myrtle Beach. The intro is the same as when I last watched, but apparently the rest of the graphics are WPDE's news graphics, and the "bug" is the show's logo (looks like it was made in MS Paint). Talk about a horrible clash. The set looks like the same one they use for "Carolina and Company".

 

The guests interviewed are mainly from around the Myrtle Beach area so they don't really have any relevance to a national audience. Back when his show was filmed in Washington he had semi-decent guests. To the show's credit they tried to make the topic relevant to a national audience (I think they mentioned the police and how their roles is changing with officer violence like in Ferguson, how social media has impacted their job, etc.) but they interviewed a couple deputies from the Horry County Sherrif's Office. Tell me how much of America is going to care.

 

Also Armstrong doesn't even refer to his show by the proper name. At the end, he thanked us for watching "The Armstrong Williams Show" and that he hopes to see us back next week...

 

The show has the sloooooowessttt credits sequence ever too. And there's like four names but it took like 30 thirty seconds to get through the credits because they moved so slow.

 

Overall, a b-rate production.

Thank goodness.

 

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wusa-news-director-resigns_b131231

 

I hope after this news, WUSA's new ND will move to improve the product.